From the Poetry Match held in the reign of the Tenryaku Emperor.
逢ふ事のたえてしなくは中中に人をも身をもうらみざらまし
| aFu koto no taetesi naku Fa nakanaka ni Fito wo mo mi wo mo uramizaramasi | If meeting Were never to be, then Somehow, Both you, lady, and my unlucky lot I would not wish to resent! |
Middle Counsellor Asatada
Composed on a day during the reign of former Emperor Horikawa when the ladies of the court went to visit the blossom in the Eastern hills.
たちかへりまたやとはまし山かぜに花ちる里の人のこころを
| tachikaeri mata ya towamashi yamakaze ni hana chiru sato no hito no kokoro o | Rising and returning Only to once more pay a curious call: The breeze from off the mountains Scattering blossom round the estate Where lies my lady’s heart… |
Supernumerary Middle Counsellor Morotoki
[One of] Five love poems in a Twenty Poem Sequence composed in his retreat in Kenryaku 2 [1212].
あらち山やた野の浅茅色付きぬ人の心の峰の淡雪
| arachiyama yatano no asaji irozukinu hito no kokoro no mine no awayuki | By Arachi Mountain, In Yata meadow the cogon grass Has taken on passion’s hues, but My lady’s heart is A peak covered in snow-spume. |
Ietaka
Sent when he saw the Tsutsumi Middle Counsellor Lady of the Bedchamber.[1]
あなこひしはつかに人をみづのあわのきえかへるともしらせてしかな
| ana koFisi Fatuka ni Fito wo midu no awa no kiekaFeru tomo sirasetesi kana | O, how strong my love! Faintly, a lady Did I see, who as foam upon the water Vanished once more, yet I had to let her know! |
The Ononomiya Palace Minister
[1] A reference to Fujiwara no Sōshi (Kuwako) 藤原桑子 (dates unknown), the daughter of Fujiwara no Kanesuke 藤原兼輔 (877-933), who was an Imperial Concubine to Emperor Daigo 醍醐 (885-930; r 897-930), and the mother of Imperial Prince Nori’akira 章明 (924-990).
Left
うつつにもゆめにもひとによるしあへばくれゆくばかりうれしきはなし
| utsutsu ni mo yume ni mo hito ni yoru shi aeba kureyuku bakari ureshiki wa nashi | In reality and In dreams both, ‘tis her I meet at night, so Until the twilight comes I have no joy, at all. |
Mitsune
57
Right (Win)
たまもかるあまとはなしにきみこふるわがころもでのかわくときなき
| tamamo karu ama to wa nashi ni kimi kouru wa ga koromode no kawaku toki naki | Reaping gemweed, A seaman, I am not, but Loving you, my lady, My sleeves are Dry for not a moment. |
58
Left (Tie)
ひとのうへとおもひしものをわがこひになしてやきみがただにやみぬる
| hito no ue to omoishi mono o wa ga koi ni nashite ya kimi ga tada ni ya minuru | Upon me The coals of passion have lain, yet After my love has been So clear, why, my lady Do you seem so calm? |
Mitsune
55
Right
あしまよふなにはのうらにひくふねのつなでながくもこひわたるかな
| ashi mayou naniwa no ura ni hiku fune no tsunade nagaku mo koi wataru kana | Lost among the reeds Of Naniwa Bay, Pulling a boat with Tug-ropes stretching long As my love endures! |
56
Left (Tie)
われやうき人をこひぢになりぬればあはぬとだえに身をぞなしつる
| ware ya uki hito o koiji ni narinureba awanu todae ni mi o zo nashitsuru | I, toward a heartless Lady upon the paths of love Did tread, but As a broken bridge, no meeting Has befallen me! |
39
Right
ひたすらにわすれもぞするわすれぐさみずやあらましこひはしぬとも
| hitasura ni wasure mo zo suru wasuregusa mizu ya aramashi koi wa shinu tomo | So completely Am I forgotten by that Forgetful day-lily— She will not see me, it seems, Though I die of love for her. |
Mitsune
40
Left
あひみてはむつましくこそなるときけつれなさのみもまさるきみかな
| aimite wa mutsumashiku koso naru to kike tsurenasa nomi mo masaru kimi kana | On meeting So kind would She become, I heard, but Simply in cruelty does That lady excel! |
35
Right (Win)
あかずしてわかれし人をゆめにみてうつつにさへもおつるなみだか
| akazushite wakareshi hito o yume ni mite utsutsu ni sae mo otsuru namida ka | Unsated Did I part from her to See her in my dreams, but Even in the waking world Will my tears fall? |
36
Left (Tie)
こひわびぬかなしきこともなぐさめむいづれなぐさのはまべなるらむ
| koiwabinu kanashiki koto mo nagusamemu izure nagusa no hamabe naruramu | Suffering the pain of love and Sadness, too, I would be consoled, so Where might Nagusa Beach lie, I wonder? |
27
Right
みぬ人のこひしきやなぞおぼつかなたれとかしらむゆめにみゆとも
| minu hito no koishiki ya nazo obotsukana tare to ka shiramu yume ni miyutomo | An unseen lady Do I love, but why? How strange it is— Is there any might know, Though I glimpse her in my dreams… |
Mitsune
28